Prison becomes shelter, inmates rise to occasion

They called Emmitt Scott the dog whisperer. A volunteer caretaker for animals left homeless in Hurricane Katrina's wake, he often entered a cage to calm an aggressive dog.

When asked about this rapport, the soft-spoken young man replied, "They are misunderstood creatures, and so are we."

So said Claudia Mattheiss, a 38-year-old New York banker and former veterinarian technician, who volunteered and worked at the Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson, La., with Scott and 18 other inmates.

"These guys just have it," she said. "It goes beyond training, and I have worked with dogs for 20 years."

When shelter space ran out after Hurricane Katrina, , the Humane Society of the United States moved 200 animals to the prison facility in late September. Except for 52 dogs and seven cats, most of the dogs, cats, geese, chickens and ducks have left.

"We are thinking of funding the construction of kennels at the prison for future disasters," said Wayne Pacelle, the Humane Society's chief executive officer.

Mattheiss is helping find contributors for the project that she says is "a perfect match." Dixon is located in a farm setting with "gigantic runs" for the dogs, she said.

"And they have all the time in the world. There is nothing better for stressed-out dogs than having the same people show up every day," Mattheiss said.

The inmates, some incarcerated for 20 years, become very attached to the animals, Mattheiss said.

"The inmates can never be emotional in prison or appear to be weak," she said. "But with the dogs they were anything but tough guys."

She said she often witnessed inmates sitting in empty cages and crying after dogs departed.

"The Humane Society and every volunteer who worked at the prison would like to see this continue," said Warden Jimmy LeBlanc.

LeBlanc said he was struck by the unconditional love the inmates showed. Most of the 1,500 inmates are from New Orleans, he said, and felt helpless in the disaster.

"You could see the change," LeBlanc said. "It was a way to give something back, to make a difference."